FRUGAL IS THE NEW BLACK The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 33 #27 • Wednesday, December 12, 2018 • www.echo.net.au
Govt lobs $9.5m Big day at Billi at Byron Bypass Hans Lovejoy The Byron Bay bypass is the latest project to benefit from seemingly never-ending funding announcements by the National Party, who are lavishing the electorate with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in the leadup to the March election. The long-running and contentious bypass announcement was enthusiastically embraced by Greens mayor Simon Richardson on Monday. It will see native wetland habitat destroyed south of Butler Street for the road. It will then turn left, over the disused railway, and emerge at the corner of Browning and Jonson Streets where Mitre 10 and Byron Music are located. The commercial expansion of the entire area, while diminishing its ecological and heritage values, is all but guaranteed. Traffic is expected to ease on the congested Ewingsdale Road by 20 per cent.
New bus terminal Additionally a new bus terminal interchange is pegged ‘alongside the bypass,’ replacing the existing terminal on Jonson Street. The NSW government have committed $9.5m, which Council staff say is the final amount needed to complete the project. The bypass is also tied to the contentious West Byron project, whereby developers agreed with the Liberal-National government to a voluntary agreement for bypass funding as part of their development application. In recent years, Council staff
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have bungled its roll out while neighbours most affected have strongly resisted through the courts, claiming the route has been shown to be ‘more expensive, dangerous and destructive of the environment, the community and heritage,’ than other options. Their suggestion for a rail corridor bypass was rejected by Council staff as not workable. Yet bus interchange plans supplied to The Echo indicate it will be within the rail corridor. Paul Jones from the Butler Street Community Network said, ‘The town bus transit centre is now slated to be on the rail corridor in the very location Council claimed was completely unavailable for either a bus station or a bypass. What credibility does Byron Shire Council now have, given the litany of lies it has taken to ensure the Byron Bay bypass is rammed through the Butler Street road reserve?’ Local Greens MP Tamara Smith told The Echo, ‘Ordinarily I welcome any infrastructure money for our towns from the state government because we are chronically starved of genuine recurrent funding for our roads and parks.’
mşƐ Ɔşōưĕ Ɛſëǔ ĶĈ ƱşĕƆǼ l ‘But the Butler Street bypass is an inherited legacy from the outgoing Nationals that is a short-term measure that will not solve the issues on Ewingsdale Road. ‘I have been told on multiple occasions by senior RMS engineers and staff that the window of ▶ Continued on page 5
Letters to the ed, printed on paper, with ink ▶ p11
Following the devastation of Cyclone Debbie last year, the Billinudgel community banded together to look at how they move forward as a community. Many of the businesses were hit hard during the enormous flood, losing stock, having machinery damaged and being left with major cleanups. Billinudgel locals celebrated Christmas last Saturday with live music, kids’ entertainment, a jumping castle and plenty of food. Simone, the face painter, is pictured with a few of her canvases at the train station. Photo Jeff Dawson
Old Mullum hospital to be demolished With the $1 sale of the four-hectare Mullumbimby Hospital site from NSW Health to Council now finalised (on Tuesday December 11), the demolition of the old hospital buildings is set to start in early January next year. Given its history of asbestos contamination, Council staff say its priority is now remediating the site, which includes the removal of asbestos and any other contaminated materials. Contractors will take control of the site in early January and the remediation is scheduled to start on January 7. Phil Holloway, Council’s infrastructure services director, said the
Dr Mary – Urban forests at your fingertip ▶ p16
Buon Natale!
contractors were ‘experienced in the demolition and remediation of contaminated sites like the Mullumbimby Hospital and at all times the health and safety of the community will be the main focus’. ‘Tweed Coast Demolitions and Excavations is managing the job with Aztech Services, the company used to remediate homes affected by Mr Fluffy insulation in Canberra, to handle the asbestos removal. ‘There will be security measures in place and the site will be fully fenced for the duration of the remediation process, which is expected to take approximately six months,’ Mr Holloway said. A community drop-in session will
be held at the Left Bank Rd entrance to the hospital next Monday, December 17, from 4pm till 7pm. Council’s Mullumbimby Hospital Site Project Reference Group (MHSPRG) recently presented recommendations for the future use of the site. A range of recommendations include a multipurpose facility (spaces for work, education, gathering, recreation, and a cafe), a mix of residential development (in perpetuity) that caters to older people and those with diverse household incomes. Comprehensive information about the remediation is on the website www.byron.nsw.gov.au. ▶ Full story at www.echo.net.au
Meet the friendly people of the Byron Arts & Industry Estate ▶ p22–24
WE WILL BE CLOSED FROM THE 22ND OF DECEMBER TO THE 9TH OF JANUARY. HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE TEAM AT CIPRIANO, WE WILL SEE YOU IN 2019! 4/64 Centennial Circuit, Byron Bay • 02 6680 8542 info@cipriano.com.au www.cipriano.com.au